A/N: (rises from the grave) For a while, I was worried. But I did have to burn for a while for saying that I was going to update. I was, but then I had absolutely no ideas to fuel this little fanfic here. I will do my best to provide you dear readers with more chapters, but for now...

"Why did you bring him here? Why now?"

They were in the relative privacy of the hall, two men clearly arguing from their silhouttes outlined by the westward sun.

"You know as well as I do that Luke was never meant to be a farmer. He carries the name of Skywalker, as does his sister."

Bail Organa was silent, thinking. "I made a promise eighteen years ago that I would raise Leia as my own daughter. Now that Breha is gone, she is all that I have left. Obi-Wan, please. Do not take her away from me."

"You needn't worry about Leia. We had always focused on Luke to be the one to do it. But you do know at some point that you may have to tell her the truth?"

"She's better off not knowing," the Viceroy snapped. "I refuse to do that if it is not necessary."

Pursing his lips, Obi-Wan argued, "The daughter of Anakin Skywalker has such abilities that should not go untrained. I understand that you have apprehensions, but she has potential--"

"No. No, Obi-Wan. Force-sensitive or not, I will not allow Leia to be trained in the ways of the Jedi if it is not in her interests. She is already a thriving young woman who has more potential to become a good ruler than she does a Jedi. I acknowledge what good you and the others did, back then. But her place is here."

Not entirely willing to begin an argument over a matter he had frankly not even thought about for a long time, the Jedi Master sighed in defeat. "I can accept that. Just keep what we have discussed in mind, my friend."

Bail nodded. "You, Luke, and Miss Jade should be able to leave in another standard day. Once these inspections are over, we'll be able to breathe again."

Stroking his beard, he asked, "Excuse me for being somewhat out of the loop, but why the sudden interest in invading the people's privacy?"

As the Viceroy opened his mouth to answer, his comlink began to hum. "Viceroy Organa," he answered.

It was Captain Antilles. "Bail. Lord Vader is approaching the atmosphere, and he requests your presence as soon as he arrives."

His expression turning even more serious than before, Bail replied, "Very well. Allow Lord Vader and his forces due accommodation. Alert the guards to full security and do not allow our guests to leave. Organa out."

Obi-Wan cocked his eyebrow at his friend as they strode into the turbolift. As they accelerated downwards, the Alderaanian told him, "This is classified information." A pause. "The Alliance has managed to procure a copy of the plans of what the Empire is calling the 'Death Star.' We suspect that, under the guise of checking tariffs, they've come to look for the plans."

"We?"

The turbolift dinged just before the doors opened. Bail's brother-in-law was standing, the barest hint of frustration twitching in his jaw.

"I'll explain later. Raymus will take you back down."

"May the Force be with you," Obi-Wan lifted the cowl over his head.

Watching the two men walk away in the opposite direction, Bail murmured under his breath, "It better be."

Meanwhile, down in the lower levels of the building...

Crunch.

"It's too bad Fixer can't talk," Luke said, chewing on his muja fruit. The little pit droid was bustling around the room using a small cloth to polish the floor, quiet in comparison to the machines that the young man had often repaired back on the farm. While the bulky droids back home had specialized in heavy manual work, cleaning seemed to be Fixer's forte.

"It's too bad you can," the Emperor's Hand delivered in a monotone. She had been stewing in the closet that some idiot had named a room with a group of drones outside of the door and the farmkid to drive her crazy on the inside. She had already attempted to escape several times, each time to find more and more guards in her way. No matter how many she had managed to concuss with her bare hands, Bail Organa apparently had a battalion of willing guards at his hands. That, or the Reserve was overflowing with members.

Luke ignored her jab, somewhat used to them after spending so much time with her. After all, he was eating, which always warranted a good mood. Crunch. "So do you have any brothers or sisters? Anybody other than the Empire who's going to be looking out for you? I think I could convince Obi-Wan to give them a warning or something," he stopped with another bite of the succulent fruit.

Crunch.

Grinding her teeth in annoyance, Mara bit back a scathing retort. She didn't feel like dealing with the insolent little--

Crunch.

The incessant noise that Skywalker produced at a never-ending rate was what she next identified as the main cause of her permanent grouchiness. Would he never shut up? Would his mouth ever stop moving?

Crunch.

Sitting up from the bunk that she was now chained to, Mara finally snapped. Her voice was calm, like the moments just before a natural disaster occurs. "Okay. I could handle the kidnapping, the continual barred escapes, the disgusting thing that was called a ship, the crazy old man, and the virtual prison. But add you into the equation, with your nonstop chatter and black hole of a stomach, and I've decided that the first thing I'm going to do is--"

Crunch.

"--SKYWALKER! I'm going to kill you!"

The guard outside had never seen someone run so quickly to the bathroom as that young Tatooinian. Must've had too much to eat, he thought.